Beau

The stories about banks foreclosing on families homes are heartbreaking and they never seem to end. So many neighbourhood families have been affected. Beau's story is particularly sad and it might have been a lot sadder had it not been for neighbours helping each other. An elderly Mom was very ill and in a nursing home and her daughter had suffered an aneurysm as was also in hospital. The bank was foreclosing on their house and there was to be an auction the next day. The problem was that the family's four cats were still in the home. A very kind neighbour who had been looking after the cats, took the older two kitties to her home. The younger two brothers were taken to a veterinary hospital where one of the brothers was found to be diabetic and extremely ill. It was decided that the kindest thing that could be done for him was to let him go to Rainbow Bridge. The fourth kitty was taken in as a foster by another neighbour while CIW looked for a "forever" home. Little did we know that Beau and his foster Dad developed a special connection. Beau was also working his charms on his younger kitty sisters and Mom too. It was decided that this 12 year old handsome boy had found his "forever" family! We are so happy for you all!

Gidget

In 2009, CIW was contacted to help find a new home for a sweet cat. The chemistry wasn't working in Gidget's present home and her caretaker felt there must be a better match for her somewhere. There were two small problems. Gidget loved being petted, brushed, and curling up with her person but she didn't like to be picked up and she didn't seem to get along with other cats. Gidget came along to the Adoption Fairs and was as good as gold but her "forever" family didn't see her. Then came CIW's Winter break. She needed to move from her caretaker's home. We found a wonderful foster home for her with no other animals (check), indoor only (check), and a wonderful man who understands cats (check). By the end of the break Gidget's foster Dad said that Gidget had been telling him for a couple of weeks that she was happy and didn't want to move. He smiled as he responded, "What could I do?" When you see her it is so very clear that Gidget has found her "forever" place! We couldn't be happier for this lovely little girl and her new Dad! Hip, hip, hooray!

Atticus

Way back in February, a little, young chihuahua was picked up as a stray in Hollister. No one came looking for him at the San Martin shelter in Gilroy. The shelters in the valley are so over run with stray animals that they are not able to hold the animals for very long. If the animals are not adopted, recovered by the owners or if a rescue group does not come and take the animals, they are euthanized. One of the shelter staff was looking out for this little dog. Atticus was able to stay longer than normal but eventually his time ran out. Instead of being put to sleep, he was scooped up and sent to a foster home with a wonderful lady who has rescued several dogs for CIW. Although quite a number of people met Atticus and some asked him to be a member of their family, none were quite right. Atticus didn't like to be away from his foster Mom and didn't show well at the Fairs, so he stopped coming. Then we realized that Atticus had made the decision. He decided that his foster Mom was his perfect forever Mom and she agreed! What do you know about that!

Maude

Maude and her daughter were picked up as strays in Mountain View near the end of October and taken to Palo Alto Animal Services. Her daughter found the family that was meant for her, but sweet little Maude was still waiting her forever family to find her at the beginning of December. Maude waited patiently, expectantly but no one came. CIW was doing our final weekend of Adoption Fairs for 2009 and we felt that we should have another dog join us. So we asked PAAS if there was a dog they would like to us to borrow and the immediate response was "Maude!" A lovely couple saw her and felt that Maude was just the dog her sister was looking for. Her sister's long time companion had passed away and she missed the company of a furry four-footed family member. The sister came and met Maude and a match was made. Maude's new Mom felt that Maude was bringing her happiness and joy and needed a name that meant joy and happiness. Maude is now Simcha which means happiness or joy in Hebrew. Since she went to her new home near the beginning of Hanukkah, it seems very right. Many happy, joyful years to you both!

Frizzy

Frizzy was picked up as a stray in Mountain View and taken to the Palo Alto Animal Services in September. She had a problem with her skin and fur and she had lost fur from parts of her body. It was suspected that she might have a skin mite problem but none were found. She was treated anyway and it seemed to help. In our ongoing program, CIW asked PAAS to borrow a couple of dogs for an Adoption Fair in October and Frizzy was chosen. At the Fair we noticed that her shin became quite red and we wondered if she might have stress problems or if it could be food allergy related. We weren't going to find out if she was in the shelter, so Frizzy came to CIW. In the home environment her skin remained normal and her food was monitored but she still became very pink at the Fairs. Then at one Fair, one of the CIW volunteers fell under Frizzy's charm. She wanted to give this little sweetie a calming soak and rest is history. Frizzy, now Daisy, has three feline family members to get to know, as well as her human family. She's one very lucky little girl with a very lucky family! Yippee!!

Sammy

At CIW we have animals come to us in all stages of care or not. Most times we have no idea of what their lives were like before they came to us and they're not talking! Our job is to observe and see what their behavior tells us. Take Sammy for example. He was filthy dirty, matted and a little shy especially of men when he was picked up as a stray. He was very nervous of crossing thresholds, whether it be from outside to indoors or from one room to another. He didn't know his "inside the house good manners" and even though he was between one and two years old, he hadn't been neutered. From his behaviors, this is what we think is his background. He wasn't a purebred so he probably wouldn't have been used for breeding. Because he was fearful of doorways and he had no "in home" good manners, he was probably kept in a backyard run supervised by a man and not part of a family. He was very scared when he went to the groomers so he either had never been before or he'd had a bad experience. One other thing we learned was that Sammy was a sweet, smart, quick learning little boy who really wanted to be close to his people and to please them. Sammy needed to find a family who understood what he could do and who had the patience to help him learn what he didn't know. And he found them! Now he has two canine sisters to help him model the good things to do and humans to help him learn and who think he is just fabulous - and so he is. How wonderful is that!

Shadow and Vader

Seven kittens were born to a feral Mom cat. Three of the kittens were caught and re-socialized when they were very young. Two of the brothers found their forever family earlier this year. Two more of the kittens were trapped but the smallest kitten was very sic and she left us. The last two kittens were caught but they had been exposed to feline distemper. There was no way to help them and they joined their little sister at Rainbow Bridge. The two surviving boys, Shadow and Vader, have been waiting for their "forever" family. Then along came the perfect family for the two little boy kittens. The family had wanted to invite a kitten to join their family. When they met the brothers, they decided that two boys were just the right number. Now Shadow and Vader have Mom and Dad, tow girls and a brother to get to know, a big friendly dog and another kitty to play with. How exactly right!

Daphne

Back in early 2005 CIW was contacted by a long time friend who was feeding a colony of feral cats. A cat had turned up in the colony who was definitely not feral. Could we help take her in and find a "forever" home for her and we did! Daphne came to CIW. Not long after, Daphne was adopted and was to be with a very nice lady in a retirement complex at a very busy intersection in Palo Alto. Less than a week later, Daphne went exploring and got outside the complex and couldn't get back inside. Many angels helped to look for her by keeping a feeding station going, putting up Lost Kitty flyers, searching. She was out on the streets for a month. One night when one her angels was putting out food, she noticed Daphne and we we able to trap her and bring her back to CIW. Quite a while later, Daphne was again adopted to a wonderful young couple whose male kitty was missing his sister who had passed away. He liked Daphne but she didn't like him so back she came to CIW. She hated going to the Adoption Fairs. She would curl up in a back corner of the cage and try to best to become invisible. So she stopped coming and then no one saw what a wonderful little girl she is until her new Mom and her daughter came to the house to see her. Daphne won their hearts and she was invited to become a member of the family. Mom says that wherever she is Daphne is right there with her! One wonderfully, friendly, sweet little cat has found her "forever" Mom! We are jumping for joy for you all!

Taro

Taro was found as a stray and taken to the San Martin shelter in Gilroy in mid October. He had very matted fur and was filthy dirty but cute. After he had a bath and was groomed he was even cuter. It didn't take a grooming for Taro to find his family. They had rescued Shih Tsu's previously but all their companions had passed away. They had just recently moved back to California after having lived in Hawaii for several years. When they saw Taro and heard what his name was, all the happy Hawaiian memories with their previous dogs came flooding in. They knew that fate had brought them together. Taro was meant to be a member of their family. Now they are creating more happy memories together in California. How wonderful!

Willis

Near the end of September, a very scared, dirty, matted, young poodle mix was found hiding under a truck on the grounds of the San Martin animal shelter. The only way he could have gotten there was to be dropped or thrown over a 6-foot fence. In early October, CIW was doing a special canine adoption fair at Anthropologie in Palo Alto. Willis was brought to our attention and we asked if he could come to the fair. He was such a mess but his inner charm shone through. Everyone wanted to know about Willis. The next day Jennifer Celestre of Able Body Pet Care and Christina of Pampered Pup in Half Moon Bay turned our little tramp into a very handsome prince of a boy! At the next adoption fair, a wonderful lady whose long-time companion had passed away earlier this year walked into the Fair. She had come shopping with a friend, had seen our sign, and had come in to say "Hello". She met Willis and knew that this little guy was to be her new companion. How cool is that? We can't imagine a better home for this little boy who has a new name, Dudley. We can't imagine a more wonderful little boy for a special lady. Win-win all around!

Nin (black) and Stuart (grey)

Everything had begun well. The boys had been born in a home. They had their Mom and siblings to play with and wonderful folks to look after them all and they had been chosen by a very nice family to become part of the new family. But life doesn't always work the way one expects. Stuart and Nin's (pronounced Neen) first adoptive family had problems and these wonderful 2 year old brothers needed to find a new "forever" family. How hard is it to find a home for an adult cat, never mind a pair of brothers who need to stay together! Then out of the blue the perfect "forever" Mom appeared. CIW friend Lynn Macy of The Pet Place in Menlo Park called to say one of the very special customers/friend had lost her long time companion dog as was looking for a pair of adult sibling cats. Did we have any? When this lovely lady saw Nin and Stuart's picture, she felt they needed her, and so they did! Now they have their special home and their special Mom and new names, Sammy and Maxi. for their new life. Life can't get any better than this!

Freddy

Freddy was rescued from a culvert in a Northern California campground. He was very thin at the time. What his rescuer knew was that Freddy needed a new home! CIW was contacted to see if we could help. What only became apparent during his physical exam, was that he had a fractured pelvis. To repair it involved a prohibitively expensive surgery. With the co-operation from the two veterinarians involved and donations by wonderful animals friends, the surgery was planned, only to be cancelled. When x-rays were taken just before surgery, the fracture was healing well on its own! The surgery was deemed not necessary at this time and maybe never! Yeah!

In the meantime a lovely lady had come to a CIW Adoption Fair looking for an adult, black and white, social kitty to join she, her husband and their resident kitty. She heard about Freddy and when they meet Freddy, it was love at first purr! Even when the fracture was discovered, their commitment to adopt Freddy didn't waver. How wonderful is that? Freddy fit right into the family as if he had been there forever. He has a new name, Po-Po and a wonderful family and feline brother to play with. His guardian angel did a super job with this special boy!

Nadia (black & white) and Phoebee (gray tabby)

Two very young kittens were rescued at a commercial building and were taken in by a young couple. The couple knew that they couldn't keep the kittens but they knew they could keep them safe until the two girls found their "forever" family. CIW was contacted to see if we could help. Phoebee (the shyer girl) and Nadia (the adventurous one) grew into beautifully social kittens. Then along came a neat couple who had lost their companion kitty and were ready to invite another kitty or two into their family. When they met Nadia and Phoebee, they knew these were the kittens for their family. In fact the kittens picture lived on the fridge until the girls arrived in body! How wonderful! Have a happy and long future together!

Sparkie (black & white) and Zest (black)

Help! We have a mom cat who just had two kittens in our back yard! What do we do? CIW helped keep the Mom cat and the kittens together for 5 weeks. Then the kittens and the Mom were trapped. The Mom cat was spayed and returned to the family who will continue to care for her. The kittens came to CIW. Their foster mom helped the kittens grow up to be wonderfully curious, social little boys. Then, just at the right time, along came just the right family who were looking for 2 kittens to join their family. Sparkie and Zest (now Fluffy) spoke to them and a match was made. The boys have a great family to care for and love them and a nice big home where they can run, play, grow and be safe for many years to come. What lucky kittens! What a lucky family!

Buddy

So many animals come to CIW because they have been dumped or abandoned. They turn up in yards or on the street and we get a call to see if we can help. These are the lucky animals because somebody cared and called and we try to help as many as we can. These are only a small fraction of the animals that have been abandoned. So many of the abandoned animals just disappear because they are killed by raccoons, wild cats, coyotes, dogs, cars, infection or starvation. Buddy was an abandoned cat. He turned up in a coast side neighborhood. The residents were canvassed but no one recognized this very social kitty! The family who took him in had quite severe cat allergies. So the call went out for a foster family. A family whose resident kitty had crossed Rainbow Bridge a few months earlier, came to his rescue. They fell in love with their new Buddy and asked if they could adopt him. We said "Yes!" and Buddy found the family who had been waiting for him. Congratulations to you all!

Trudy

A young dog was surrendered to the Palo Alto Animal Services. She had cherry eye, was dirty, matted, and traumatized. She was dreadfully scared of hands and feet but she really liked people. PAAS fixed her physical problems - her cherry eye and spayed her but felt that more beneficial to her would be more personal time in a family setting rather than in a shelter setting. So CIW was contacted. With time Trudy's trust level increased to the point that she would seek out pats and hands to lift her into a lap. She even began to enjoy being brushed and getting rid of the matts in the coat! She was still a little nervous around feet. She was healing and trusting. Just at the right time, a wonderful couple asked to meet her and fell under her spell! They asked that Trudy become a member of their family. What a terrific idea! Happy future to you all!

Spencer

No one can say that Spencer's life has been a smooth ride. As far as we know, it started out okay. Then everything started to unravel. His caretaker's job changed and she couldn't care for Spencer and his sister. So she found them a new home. Shortly after the move, their new caretaker had to go into hospital for an extended stay. That's when Spencer and his sister came to CIW. They found a lovely young couple who fell in love with them. Unfortunately, less than a year later, Spencer's sister passed away very unexpectedly. Even introducing another female cat didn't help and Spencer started acting out showing that he was very unhappy. In an apartment, that doesn't work. Now Spencer has finally found his comfort place. Spencer's foster family has decided that this home is his "forever" home and we are so happy for you all. Spencer, you are so deserving of a "happily ever after!"